Assessing global warming by measuring bulk ocean temperature 

 using the technique of measuring the time of acoustic transmission; 



Monitoring marine mammal behavior, migrations, and assessing 

 population sizes and distributions — this is important as we look at 

 enforcing the Endangered Species Act; 



Monitoring and detecting driftnet and other fishing activity in 

 the North Pacific and elsewhere; 



Assessing fisheries stocks in exclusive economic zones; 



Transmitting data from and locating drifting mid-water instru- 

 ment packages; and 



Measuring open ocean rainfall rates by listening to the sound as 

 the water drops hit the water surface. 



Demonstration projects for the first three — global warming, 

 marine mammal studies, and driftnet fishing — have been or soon 

 will be carried out. Several were funded through the Strategic En- 

 vironmental Research and Development Program. 



Bob Oswald is here to talk about that program. Although NO A A 

 is not directly involved in some of these, their results may point 

 the way for other long-term applications. The remaining three pro- 

 posals have not been tested, but appear technically feasible and 

 worth further study. The lUSS system clearly offers the potential 

 for a range of civil applications, and NOAA strongly supports its 

 dual use. 



Let me speak next about ships. NOAA and the Navy are cooper- 

 ating in identifying ships that can be utilized for civilian missions. 

 NOAA has received three former T-AGOS surveillance vessels for 

 conversion to meet specialized NOAA oceanographic and nautical 

 charting mission requirements. NOAA will continue to investigate 

 the feasibility of using surplus naval vessels to fulfill specific 

 NOAA mission needs. 



Another system for possible dual-use is the Over the Horizon 

 (OTH) Radar, built for the Air Force. This system uses low-frequen- 

 cy radar to provide early warning of aircraft attack. Its potential 

 application to ocean environmental studies arises because the re- 

 turning radar signal which is reflected from the ocean surface is 

 modulated by ocean wave conditions. Although this "sea clutter" is 

 normally rejected when tracking aircraft, the information can be 

 recovered by special processing. 



Scientists from NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory 

 have demonstrated the ability to extract surface wave and wind di- 

 rection data over large ocean areas. They believe it will be possible 

 to extract wind speed and wave height as well, parameters impor- 

 tant to commercial shipping. 



Applications of such data include observations to improve signifi- 

 cantly synoptic scale modelling and weather forecasts in data 

 sparse ocean areas. And a dramatic test during Hurricane Andrew 

 last year demonstrated the ability to track these storms continu- 

 ously in conjunction with satellite data as they approach the coast. 



We are involved in an interagency task group exploring uses of 

 the OTH radar. Because the Air Force already has decided to 

 mothball the system, significant funding would be needed for con- 

 tinuing operations. Multiple agency participation for a variety of 

 missions appears the only feasible option. We do not know what 



